Family Issues
by Erosdeath
Summary: A One-shot done for the Writer's Anonymous Character Development Challenge. Jaymie Misaki is the daughter of a Lieutenant, and had a fairly normal life until her father unintentionally ruined it by enlisting her into a new unit in the military. (All the characters in this story are OCs I have created).


This is for the WA Character Development Writing Challenge. The story is of an OC I created for IS: Infinite Stratos.

"Talking"

 _Thoughts_

 **Moral Issues**

"Dad, I don't care! I never wanted to join the military!" Jaymie yelled at her father as she stormed out of her room.

She was fourteen years old and her father had trained her to fend for herself at a young age. In that sense Jaymie had become an independent girl, but her father always made decisions for her. That alone annoyed her to the very core, she hated it. The latest decision he made for her was to join the military. One might question that, but the division she was assigned to made a special exception. She was a prime candidate for the unit she would be working with.

Jaymie had long black hair that went down to her waist. The bottom of her hair was dyed red and it was done up in a high ponytail with Japanese chopsticks that had intricate designs on them. Her side bangs went down to her cheeks and she kept them out of the way with hair pins. Jaymie's eyes were the colour of the autumn sky, and she had a slim figure. She wore a white sleeveless blouse with a yellow frilly skirt, and black knee socks.

"But sweetie, I meant no harm behind the decision. I just thought you would want to join," Her father said as he followed the girl out into the living room.

Jaymie growled as she sat down on the couch, "Did you ever consider asking if I was okay with it?"

Her father scratched the back of his head, "No, but that's because I was sure you wouldn't mind if you heard what you'll be doing."

"Well guess again, because I never intended on joining when I grew up. Why is it that you always make decisions for me! Don't I have a say in what I want to do with my life?!" The girl inquired while glaring at her father. "Can't you retract the request?"

"That's not possible. They've already approved the request and assigned you to a new unit the government has made," He said.

The answer didn't sit too well with the dark haired girl as she stormed out of the room, trying to get away from her father. "Can you just hear me out? You might like it, it's not your average unit. You'll be operating a suit only women can operate!" Her father pleaded.

"Just because you're a military officer, it doesn't mean I want to become one too!" She shouted back.

"Look, I'm sorry. I just got back from being deployed. If I had known you'd be upset, I would have never submitted the request," he explained.

"You would've known if you had asked me about it first!"

"Don't be like this. I can try to get them to relieve you, but I don't think they will. You're my daughter, so they will expect a lot from you."

Jaymie went back into her room while her father followed her, but shut the door on his face and locked it. "I'm really sorry baby girl. I'll go back and ask them to retract their approval," he said behind the closed door.

He sounded hurt, but Jaymie didn't care at the moment. She didn't like it how her father always made decisions for her. She wanted to make her own, but that was never the case. Jaymie was the daughter of a Leiutenant who was respected among the government. He never asked about any of the decisions he'd make for her, and this was no exception. This was the worst of them all. To think he would submit a request for her to join the military without her consent. It made her blood boil, she was furious.

"Can you let me in?" He asked in a softer, quieter voice.

"No, go away! I hate you! I never want to see you again!" She yelled from behind her door.

Her father had a hurt expression, he was about to say something when his wife, Minako, put a hand on his shoulder and shook her head, "Leave her be, Cory. She's hurt."

"But I never meant to hurt her," He said as he looked back at Minako.

"I know you didn't. You thought you were doing what felt right, but she's more independent than you think," Minako explained.

Cory sighed in defeat, "Alright you win."

Back behind the door, Jaymie heard the entire exchange. She was silently crying, because her father always acted as if he knew what was best for her. She didn't want to be treated like a child, but that's just how he treated her.

 _Why do you treat me like this! I never wanted to be pampered by you!_

She curled up into a ball against the door and cried her heart out. To think she would join the military because of her father. It sickened her. She didn't want anything to do with it. It was what took Jaymie's father away from her. Now it was going to take her away from her mother.

~~~One month later~~~

Jaymie was inside a large maintenance room with a group of girls her age, gathered around a man who was standing atop of a large metal box.

The man cleared his throat to get their attention, "Now that you all have your own units, it's time to discuss what you girls will be doing," he stated. "You've all been selected to operate a machine called, Infinite Stratos. It's a state-of-the-art unit that only women can operate. Those of you who are here now are the most compatible with these machines, as we discovered through the various tests we ran," he explained.

 **FLASHBACK**

There were scientists all around Jaymie while she was laying on top of a large table. She had many wires and sensors hooked up to her along with a headband that monitored her brain activity. Jaymie's facial expression was unpleasant to say the least. She felt like a lab rat.

The people in the lab coats were checking all the data that came through, testing to see which IS she was most compatible with. They already have tried six of the eight units they had, but none of them had the results they wanted. She was hooked up to another IS through the cables and they were testing her once more.

She felt a jolt of electricity run through her body as the scientist ran the test. To her it felt like she was being stabbed by a thousand needles. All she could think was how much she hated her father. Who would subject their child to this kind of treatment? It was like he didn't even care for her.

All the rage she felt flowed through the cables and transferred into the IS she was connected to, and suddenly it responded to her thoughts. The scientists saw that her compatibility was nearly one hundred percent, something they haven't seen yet.

The giant machine (IS) lit up and vanished. It reappeared onto her right wrist as a gold wrist band with small spikes protruding from it. The pain Jaymie was feeling vanished as the people stopped the test. All the scientists in the room were wide eyed, they had never seen an IS do that before. The pilot was suppose to first connect to it via the cockpit of the machine, but it connected with her through the cables and accepted her with ease. Like it wanted to be with her.

Jaymie got up from the table and unhooked the cables and took the headband off. "Am I done here?" She asked in an irritated tone. The lead scientist just nodded their head. So far nobody had been able to connect with the IS Fenrir so strongly before.

 **FLASHBACK END**

"You will all be the U.S's military IS unit. You've all been equipped with 3rd gen prototypes and will help us collect data on them. This is also a top secret unit, as IS' used for military purposes aren't exactly allowed. From now on, I'm your Commanding Officer, James Bryce. In a few weeks from now we'll have a tournament to determine who should be the leader of this squad. That person will follow my every order without question, and report everything to me," Commander Bryce explained. "But before that happens, you'll all need to do some training with your units. Remember, the IS has something similar to a consciousness, so you'll bond overtime. Any questions?"

Jaymie put her hand up, "Are we able to quit? I never wanted to be a part of this," she asked in a cold tone.

"My my, quite the attitude you have. To answer your question; no you can't. But I'm surprised that you, Jaymie Misaki, daughter of Cory Hughs wants to quit the military. I thought children followed in their parents footsteps," Bryce answered in an amused tone.

Jaymie clenched her fists in anger, "Don't associate me with that man! I'm nothing like him."

~~~One year later~~~

Jaymie was busy looking over Fenrir's data in the maintenance room to make sure everything was okay with it. In the year she had been in the military she's been assigned co-leader of the IS unit she was in due to being the runner up in the tournament. Since then she made friends with the leader of the unit, Sasha Smith, and all of the other girls in her unit. She didn't mind the unit she was assigned to after a while, but deep down she still hated her father for making the decision without her. He would visit whenever he could to apologize, but Jaymie refused to forgive him. Her life may not be so bad, but she couldn't forgive him. The fact he made this decision without her still made her blood boil.

Once Jaymie was finished looking over Fenrir's data she unhook the wires and switched her two meter tall IS back into it's standby mode, which was the gold bracelet. She opened the hangar door to leave the room, but when she looked at the doorway she saw her father standing there. Her expression turned sour as she walked past him, "What is it now?"

Cory turned around and followed her, "I came to speak with you. It's not an apology this time. It's something more important, and I wanted to hear your thoughts on it," he explained.

Jaymie gave a small laugh, "My thoughts? You wanted to hear my thoughts. Here's one of them, I don't want to see you."

Cory slowed down momentarily from her comment, but continued to follow her, "Look, I know you still hate me for making the decision for you to join the military, and I regret making it without your knowledge, but you need to hear this. You might like it," he explained.

This time Jaymie really laughed, "Hate you? No, I despise you. You took away my school life by making that decision! And you said that last time, look at where it got me. You know what I would like, I'd like you to get lost."

"Enough with the hate, please. I get it, you hate my guts. But this isn't about me, it's about you. An old friend of mine is asking me for a favour and it involves you. So before telling her my thoughts, I wanted to hear yours."

"Didn't I tell you to get lost?"

Cory grabbed his daughters arm to stop her and pulled her into a hug, "Just hear me out. We can go dine at your favourite barbeque restaurant while we discuss the matter. It'll be on me. And after you told me your thoughts, I'll get out of your hair for good. Sound like a deal?"

Jaymie sighed, "Fine. But you better make it quick. I'm suppose to meet up with Sasha in the afternoon."

~~~Later~~~

Jaymie was sitting across from her father as they both had food cooking on the coal grill in the middle of the table. She looked irritated despite the free lunch. "So, what is this about?" She inquired.

Cory rubbed the back of his neck, "As I told you, an old friend of mine asked for a favour. She was asking if I could send you to Japan, so you may attend the IS Academy."

"And this matters because?"

"You are to be a spy and watch over someone," Cory answered.

"Who am I spying on?"

Cory passed Jaymie a slip of paper and she read over it, "Alright, this doesn't say much. It just says their name."

Cory looked around before speaking, "That's because that name is very important. Their parents were working on a top secret mission involving the IS and it's development. I can't say too much because there might be people listening in onto our conversation. All I can tell you is that you're being asked to watch over that person." He paused briefly before continuing, "If you accept this mission, you'll be transferred into the IS Academy and start a highschool life... Something I took away from you."

Jaymie looked at her father with thoughtful eyes, "So this is your way of saying sorry to me?"

Cory hesitated before answering, "Yes, and no. As much as I want to make it up to you, this mission is much more important. Even so, I'm asking as your father if you want to accept this mission. If you don't, that's fine. You don't have to."

"What's the catch?"

"Possible kidnapping and/or death. The person you'll be watching over is wanted in the underworld. But there's also perks to it. You'll get to attend highschool, and you'll become the U.S's representative candidate; meaning you'll be paid big chunks of cash to attend the Academy. And if the need arises you can request for a fellow member of your squad to join you."

Jaymie thought of over it carefully. As much as she hated her father, he seemed to have changed. For once he's letting her decide. It gave her a warm feeling on the inside. Something she hasn't truly felt since she was separated from her mother. It made her smile.

"Say I accept the mission, when do I leave?" Jaymie inquired.

"Tomorrow morning."

 _H_ _mm, that's awfully quick. Whoever this kid may be, must be really important_

"What if I decline?"

"Then I'll find someone else to fit the role," Cory answered.

Jaymie thought for a while. If she accepted, she would get her highschool life back. Not only that, she'd be paid big money for it. To top it off, she could ask for assistance from one of her friends... It would be a tempting offer if the risk wasn't death. But what had most of her attention was that her father was actually consulting her about a decision that involved her. Did he finally learn from his previous mistakes? If so, why now? Was it because he had a chance to give her, her school life back?

"And you're sure I'm the best fit for the job?"

"I'm positive you are one of the best to come to for this. I've been watching your skills grow over the past year. It makes me proud to call you my daughter. My only regret is choosing life decisions for you," Cory answered.

Jaymie thought for a moment, "Alright, I'll take the mission. When exactly do I leave tomorrow?"

Cory smiled, "Thank you. It means a lot to me that you're willing to help an old friend of mine out. As for the times, I'll message them to you later today." He got up and turned to leave, "It's time I get out of your hair now."

Just as he started leaving Jaymie grabbed his arm, "I may still hold a lot of hate towards you, but coming to me and letting me decide on what I want to do means a lot to me. You don't have to leave me for good anymore. Instead come see me off tomorrow," she said with an embarrassed expression.

Cory held his daughters arms as he smiled, "I never meant to hurt your feelings. You mean the world to me, and I just thought you weren't ready to make decisions on your own, but now I can see I was wrong. Submitting a request for you to join the military without your consent was crossing the line, and I regret it."

She shook her head, "Don't regret it. Joining the military may have caused me a lot of pain, but it also gave me new friends who I can count on."

He turned around and hugged her, "You're only fifteen and you've already become a fine young woman. Your mother was right from the beginning, you never needed my help."

Jaymie hugged her father, "I've only become this independent because of you and mom helping me learn at a young age."

Moments went by before both father and daughter pulled a part as Jaymie wiped her tears, "It's time I get back to work. You're suppose to be meeting a friend, right? I wouldn't keep them waiting if I were you," Cory said.

"Right. I guess I'll see you tomorrow," Jaymie said as she dashed out of the restaurant, leaving Cory to pay the bill. He stood there and looked at door of the restaurant where his daughter left with a smile on his face, knowing she has chosen to forgive him.


End file.
